Japanese government officials last weeek gave the green light to Hayabusa 2, a robotic explorer due for launch in 2014 on a journey to retrieve and return rocks from a near-Earth asteroid.
The Space Activities Commission, a board governing funding for the Japanese space program, formally approved the Hayabusa 2 mission last week. The decision came after a 2010 ruling that directed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to continue preliminary design of the probe.
Launch of Hayabusa 2 must occur in 2014 to reach asteroid 1999 JU3, the mission's 3,000-foot-diameter target. Asteroid 1999 JU3, which is still awaiting a name, is a C-type body, the most common form of asteroid in the solar system. Observations by telescopes on Earth indicate the asteroid is roughly spherical and has dark features. (spaceflightnow.com)
Japanese government officials last weeek gave the green light to Hayabusa 2, a robotic explorer due for launch in 2014 on a journey to retrieve and return rocks from a near-Earth asteroid.
The Space Activities Commission, a board governing funding for the Japanese space program, formally approved the Hayabusa 2 mission last week. The decision came after a 2010 ruling that directed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to continue preliminary design of the probe.
Launch of Hayabusa 2 must occur in 2014 to reach asteroid 1999 JU3, the mission's 3,000-foot-diameter target. Asteroid 1999 JU3, which is still awaiting a name, is a C-type body, the most common form of asteroid in the solar system. Observations by telescopes on Earth indicate the asteroid is roughly spherical and has dark features. (spaceflightnow.com)